Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio talked at Big Ten Media Day in Chicago on Wednesday about the high expectations he has for his football team this season.Mike Griffith | MLive.com

CHICAGO — Chase it.

Michigan State football coach Mark Dantonio said at the Big Ten Media Day on Wednesday that he can't get those words, that concept, out of his mind.

"When I talk about chasing it, you have to chase the dream, you have to see how close you are, constantly, in the weight room, out running and at practice,'' said Dantonio, whose team lost five games by a combined 13 points last season. "We're doing it all for a reason. There is a feeling among our football team that a foundation has been laid, but we're still chasing a dream.

"And the players have to understand that when we show up, it's show time.''

That might not fit the national narrative, but Dantonio made it clear he feels good about his football team.

The quarterback position, as most always, received a great deal of attention.

"Andrew Maxwell comes in at No. 1, and it's his to lose,'' Dantonio said. "Every quarterback we have has the physical ability to be good.

"You say we have to get better there, but also, we need to catch the ball better, we need to protect better, we need to make calls as a coach better, so there are a lot of factors that go into this. It's a team game.''

Bullough said that while Monday morning quarterbacks blamed the offense for last season's 7-6 record after back-to-back 11-win campaigns, the defense was looking at itself in the mirror.

"While everyone in the media was talking about the offense,'' Bullough said, "behind the scenes, the defense has talked about ourselves and what we have got to do.''

Dantonio indicated the Spartans defense should be stronger than ever, but there's work to be done and areas to improve, such as forcing more turnovers, recording more sacks and improving the "two-minute defense.''

Nine of Michigan State's games last season came down to the final possession.

"We won four of them and lost five of them,'' Dantonio said. "Our players can taste how close they were, they have an edge to them in terms of how they are working.''

The chase is on, starting with a Friday night kickoff on Aug. 30 at Spartan Stadium against Western Michigan.

Games with South Florida (Sept. 7) and Youngstown State (Sept. 14) follow before a Sept. 21 road trip to Notre Dame.

Dantonio has said he will play two quarterbacks early in the season, as much to build depth at the position.

"But if one guy is out-playing another guy,'' he said, "we'll make the change and make the move.''

It's all a part of the chase, and as Dantonio alluded, the "Chase It'' mantra will be heard early and often throughout fall camp.

"That's what I've been thinking all summer, and that's what we have to talk about, because that's really what we're doing,'' said Dantonio, 51-28 through his first six seasons.

"We're chasing excellence, we're chasing a dream, we're chasing a game, we're chasing the Rose Bowl. It's not going to be handed to us, we have to catch it.''